The state of Illinois has agreed to start providing lawyers for juvenile defendants who face parole revocation hearings as part of a settlement of a federal lawsuit that dubbed the process a "kangaroo court" system that left youths languishing behind bars.

The state conducts over 1,000 revocation proceedings each year against juvenile defendants, none of whom has an attorney unless they hire their own. A proposed class-action lawsuit brought by attorneys at Northwestern University School of Law's MacArthur Justice Center in 2012 alleged that parole officers frequently persuaded juvenile offenders to waive their preliminary hearings by falsely telling them they will get home sooner.

Those youths then remained behind bars – often for technical violations such as failing to meet curfew or attend classes – until a final revocation hearing that the lawsuit dubbed a "sham" because no witnesses could be called.

"It was all just based on paperwork, which is impossible to confront," said Alexa Van Brunt, a MacArthur Center attorney who said as many as four out of every five juvenile offenders waived their hearings. "We're hoping these changes will really make the hearings more fair."

Under the new system, the parole board can hear evidence from an attorney on why a youth was missing class before deciding whether to put them behind bars for a parole violation, Van Brunt said.

"We think this is a good resolution to the concerns that the plaintiffs raised," said Maura Possley, a spokeswoman for the Attorney General's office, which represented the Illinois Prisoner Review Board and state Department of Juvenile Justice in the lawsuit.

The MacArthur Center became involved after a 2011 report by the Ilinois Juvenile Justice Commission found numerous issues with the juvenile court system that it said had led to too many youths being locked up unneccesarily. It costs the state about $87,000 a year to keep a juvenile offender behind bars, according to a 2010 estimate by the state's auditor general.

On an average day, 40 percent of incarcerated youth were being held on technical parole violations while only two percent were locked up on new criminal charges, according to the 2011 report. Just one defendant out of the 123 cases reviewed by the commission had hired an attorney, the report said.

In adult court, probation typically lasts a year or two, but juvenile offenders remain on probation until they turn 21, Van Brunt said.

Under the settlement, youths under 18 would automatically receive a state-hired attorney to represent them while those 18 and older could receive an appointed attorney if they qualify. The Department of Juvenile Justice would screen older defendants, looking at their mental health, education and ability to speak for themselves before deciding whether an attorney would be appointed.

It is unclear how much the new arrangement will cost. Van Brunt said the state is expected to put out a request for bids on the legal services this summer.

A hearing on the proposed consent decree is scheduled for July 31 before U.S. District Judge Andrea Wood.